1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for transferring predetermined portions of material, such as food items, from a filling zone to a second delivery zone where the portion is delivered to a container. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for moving a transfer receptacle holding a predetermined portion of material from a filling zone to a delivery zone and inverting the transfer receptacle at the delivery zone to deliver the portion to a container, such as a tray.
2. Description of the Related Art.
U.S. Pats. No. 4,576,209 and No. 4,754,785 of EISENBERG disclose an apparatus for delivering fibrous or particulate materials, such as food materials, from a shaker pan onto a rotating turntable provided with radial gutters, each gutter delivering material to a corresponding hopper located at the periphery of the turntable. Each hopper is mounted on a radially extending rotatable arm, and when the hopper reaches a discharge station, the arm is actuated to rotate 180.degree. , inverting the hopper and delivering its contents through a funnel into a container below.
Earlier EISENBERG patents disclose other arrangements for transferring predetermined quantities of particulate materials from a rotary drum tumble type filler via an endless line of intermediate receptacles to a separate line of moving containers at a delivery station outside the drum filler. These include U.S. Pats. No. 3,517,705, No. 3,621,891, No. 3,990,209, and No. 3,994,321.
In No. 3,517,705, the bottom of each intermediate receptacle is supported by an arm having an opposite end that pivots about an axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of an endless conveyor line that transports the intermediate receptacles through a drum filler. When a filled receptacle reaches the delivery station, the arm pivots through 180 degrees to invert the receptacle to discharge into containers moving on a line below. The intermediate receptacles in No. 3,621,891 have hinged bottoms that trip open to discharge the contents when each receptacle reaches the delivery station. In Nos. 3,990,209 and 3,994,321, the intermediate receptacles have no bottoms and slide along a deadplate until they reach the delivery station.
In all of the above-described transfer filling systems, the intermediate transfer receptacles are connected to an endless conveyor that transports them from the filling station to the delivery or discharge station. Often, it is desirable to change the size or capacity of the intermediate receptacles, and this can be time consuming if each receptacle has to be disconnected and another connected. Also, the connection devices add complication and expense, as well as maintenance and cleaning problems.